More than 3,000 pubs and clubs have closed since the pandemic while other cities like Manchester and Liverpool have thrived. If the mayor won’t do anything about it, others will, says Emma Best
Growing up gay in London, my world and confidence in who I was changed when I was able to start experiencing London’s nightlife – and at that time there was somewhere to be every night. The Angel in Stratford on a Monday, 1-3-1 on a Tuesday, Brannigans on a Wednesday and Opium in Romford on a Thursday and G-A-Y and Heaven on a weekend.
It is tragic to think that all are now closed except for Heaven, with an announcement this year that even this historic venue is at risk of closure. It is not just those from the LGBT+ community that are missing out. London’s nightlife once catered to all cultures, backgrounds and every niche interest. Now, anyone leaving a West End show will find every pub or bar nearby closed, late-night food options are increasingly limited and a night out beyond 12am has to be meticulously planned, with the spontaneous nature of hopping from venue to venue out of the question. That’s not just damaging to the economy, but to the sense of inclusivity that makes this the greatest city in the world.
There are of course many factors that have contributed to London’s declining nightlife. The pandemic was evidently devastating for the industry, with more than 3,000 pubs and clubs closing across London since March 2020. As the sector started to recover, the economy was quickly hit by high inflation in the wake of Putin’s war in Ukraine and then a significant increase in the cost of operating (30-40 per cent for most venues). The knock-on effect was almost immediate – faced with a higher cost of living, many people had to cut back on going out.
But we cannot overlook the fact that the number of clubs in London had dropped by 35 per cent even before the start of the pandemic. The decline in night-time venues has been steeper in London than in any other English region.
Neither the mayor, his deputy mayor for culture or his controversial night czar seem to have the answers.
Fixing London’s nightlife is not just about being able to get drunk in Soho at 3am and get home safely (as important as that is). Many livelihoods depend on the sector, supporting hundreds of thousands of workers and small business owners.
As the UK’s second city, Manchester is rapidly gaining on the capital with innovative interventions and less restrictive licensing – allowing nightlife to flourish. Liverpool has also seen a phenomenal growth post-pandemic in the sector and just this May was named the best city break in the UK, in no small part because of its ‘buzzing’ nightlife.
Young people will simply abandon London for cities like Manchester and Liverpool in the years ahead if we do not act. Footfall in London venues will drop further in turn, leading to more closures and creating a vicious, seemingly inescapable cycle.
I certainly won’t pretend I could fix all of London’s night-time economy issues overnight. What I do know, however, is that part of the solution needs to come from the ground up –
working with the industry and lobbying the mayor, local councils and the government for what the sector needs.
That’s why I don’t want to simply complain about how bad the problem is, I want to be a part of the solution. Today at City Hall, I’m bringing together representatives from across the nightlife industry for a roundtable to discuss how we can help put the sector back together and succeed in the long-term.
From venues, to licensing, safety and transport, I want the day to be an honest and frank conversation about what we can do to help, from the people working in the sector who know the problems better than anyone.
Those who have not given up on London’s nightlife and believe it can thrive, as it has done for many decades previously, need our full support now more than ever.
For the sake of our city’s culture, our economy and all those livelihoods that depend on this sector, fixing London’s nightlife is too important an issue not to act.
Emma Best is deputy leader of City Hall Conservatives